The Aftermath
by SandXDemonX13
Summary: Much against his will Sasuke is back in Konoha. The person he wants to be with sent him away and Naruto desperately wants him to remember something that he doesn't believe ever happened. If Sasuke ever remembers everything who will he want to be with?
1. Chapter 1

Rating: T

Pairings: Mentions of Itachi/Sasuke and one-sided Sasuke/Naruto.

Warnings: Mentions of Uchihacest, which is INCEST, mentions of Sasu/Naru, which is SHONEN-AI and just a bit of language. So if you don't like something there then go away 'cause I don't wanna hear you whine.

Disclaimer: I will never own Naruto.

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**The Aftermath**

**Chapter one**

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"_I want you to go back to Konoha; tell everyone you killed me and Orochimaru... Live your life out there, Sasuke."_

"_...Itachi... I-I... I don't want to leave you here... I don't want to go back...I left—I left for a reason..."_

"_You can't get revenge now, we both know that...unless you'd like to kill me right here."_

"_No! I could...never do that to you, Itachi!"_

"_Heh, then just go back, Sasuke; go live back home."_

"_...D-don't you... Don't you even care? Don't you even want me here?"_

"_Shh, of course I do, Sasuke. I love you; I would love for you to stay with me forever...but you need to go back home."_

"_I don't want to! I want to stay with you! I killed Orochimaru... I found you...because I love you, Itachi... And now, after all this time—after everything... You're just sending me away... What? Was I just some plaything to you, Itachi?"_

"_Sasuke, don't you ever dare think that. I love you and you know that. And _I_ know that you going back would be best for you right now."_

"_Itachi...please... Don't do this... Don't force me to go back there when all I want is to stay with you..."_

"_I'm sorry, Sasuke. Perhaps one day we'll see each other again."_

**XxXxXxXxX**

He looked around at the drab white settings of the hospital room in disgust. This is where he'd been brought after... No, he didn't want to think about it; it was too painful for him to think about, and he hoped that no one brought up the person that had brought him back here. He really couldn't believe that he was back...after all that running he just ends up right back at the beginning—right back in the place he hates. And why? Just because his brother told him to come back and he had refused and so was promptly dropped off.

And the first thing he opens his eyes to after everything is just a bunch of white. Just white when he's so used to seeing the face of his brother. Why did this have to happen? Why did Itachi claim that coming back _here_ would be best for him? It didn't make any sense to him, all he knew was that he wanted to be back with his brother...and very, very far away from this village.

His brother. One of the only people that he had spent the last year with had just...left him. Left him in the damn village; left him alone, telling him to live his life in this stupid village. Didn't Itachi understand that he was his life? He didn't want to live if they weren't together; it just wasn't worth it, didn't Itachi understand that much at least? But if he did...then why the hell had he done this to him?—why had his brother broken his heart? He might've been able to understand if Itachi had at least given him an actual reason other than it was best, because that was not a reason in his eyes, at all. It was more an excuse. An excuse to get rid of him... Had Itachi finally gotten tired of him? Was a year all it took for Itachi to tire of someone who he claimed to love?

Sasuke grabbed the side of his head and sat up in the hospital bed slowly. He didn't want to think about this—this was exactly what he had wanted to avoid thinking about, so why couldn't he just drop it? Why couldn't he just accept that maybe his brother really was through with him? Why did he even have to love that damn man so much in the first place? He sighed and looked down at his lap, letting his hand fall from his head. Why did this have to happen?

He looked up a moment later when the door opened, letting Naruto and Tsunade walk in. Naruto smiled at him slightly and walked over to his bedside, asking him questions that he couldn't hear; he wasn't paying attention to anything accept the fact that his brother had left him..._again_. How could he keep allowing this to happen to himself? How could he have actually allowed himself to love that man in the first place?

Only when Tsunade spoke did he finally pay attention, "Uchiha Sasuke, you were found at the village gates, unconscious, late last night. Do you have any explanation for this?" He didn't want to answer; he didn't want to be here in this room—in this village. There was no choice anymore...he would have to lie about a good deal of things, and just to make his brother happy. "No..." his throat was dry and his voice was hoarse, but those things didn't matter to him. "Why have you returned?"

For a moment Sasuke looked down. _My brother...he forced me to come back...because he..._ finishing the simple thought was just too painful for him at the moment. He didn't want to think that his brother may have forced him to come back just because Itachi didn't feel the same for him any longer and couldn't bear to have him around. It just hurt too much. Finally, he looked up at Tsunade and simply said, "I don't know..." he watched her glance over at Naruto and the younger blonde looked at him confused.

Tsunade nodded at Sasuke. "I'll return later on," he didn't care; he zoned out again and heard his brother's words ring clear in his mind for just a second. Slowly his eyes closed as he shook his head, "wait..." he called out quietly.

Tsunade stopped right before she was going to open the door and looked back at him. "What is it?" he opened his eyes and looked down. Could he really do this—tell this lie? If someone found out that Itachi was still alive...he didn't know what would happen to him. But...Itachi had told him to... "I...I killed them..." Tsunade looked confused and took a step back toward his bed. "What do you mean? Who did you kill?" Sasuke looked to the window as he took a deep breath. _I don't want to take credit for this...not anymore..._

"Itachi...and Orochimaru, I killed them..." there was silence as he looked over at the Hokage. Tsunade stood there staring at Sasuke in a complete state of disbelief, which she quickly covered up before nodding and turning back towards the door, leaving quietly after a second. All Sasuke could do was sigh as he lay back down, only then realizing that Naruto was still in the room. "...Did you really kill them both, Sasuke?" the blonde asked him, his face right above Sasuke's all of the sudden. "...Yeah," he answered softly and saw Naruto smile.

"That's great, Sasuke. It's really good to have you back home too," the blonde's smile got even brighter but he said nothing. He just didn't want to be here. He wanted to be with Itachi; he wanted to be out of this hospital bed and away from the boy that was telling him that it was great that he had "killed" his brother. If his brother was actually dead then he didn't know what he would do. "Well... I'm sure you want some rest. I'll come back by tomorrow to see you, all right?" he nodded and the blonde smiled once again before moving away from him, leaving the room a moment later.

Maybe Naruto was right about one thing, maybe he did need some rest... Seconds later he was asleep.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"_We're going to be there soon, Sasuke... You know that I'm sorry about this, but it's for the best."_

"_No! It's not, Itachi! ...But just tell me, did you ever really love me or...was this all just one big fucking game to you?"_

"_Sasuke. Don't you dare. Of course I love you, Sasuke; I've loved you for a very long time...and I think it was that love that blinded me in the first place. So now I'm doing what is right..."_

"_I don't give a damn about what's right, Itachi! ...And for the past year I thought that you didn't care either...obviously I was mistaken..."_

"_Think what you want, Sasuke. It seems that whatever I say I will not be able to change your opinion on this. It doesn't matter if I care about what's right and wrong, I care about you. So I am doing what is right for you, Sasuke."_

"_Like hell you are. You won't even give me a real reason to why you're doing this..."_

"_..."_

"_Itachi...please...just...give me a real reason..."_

"_I'm afraid I can't do that, Sasuke. I'm sorry."_

"_Why? Why the hell can't you?"_

"_You wouldn't want to accept the real reason if I told you, so this is best, as I've said. I don't want to do this; I don't want to give you up, but I must, and I'm sorry."_

"_Itachi... Why are you doing this to me...to _us_...?"_

"_I'm sorry, Sasuke... Maybe one day I'll be able to explain everything, but we've only got another little while until we're there... Good-bye, Sasuke..."_

"_I-Ita...chi..."_

**XxXxXxXxX**

His eyes shot open just so that he could stare at the darkness that lay around him. It took him a moment to remember that he was in Konoha Hospital, but once he did he placed a hand over his eyes, making the darkness even darker. That dream, or whatever it had been, had been the very last conversation he'd had with his brother before Itachi had knocked him out. It was his last memory of the man.

Slowly Sasuke took his hand off his eyes and looked around the room once, almost jumping when he heard a snore suddenly break out from the side of his bed. He looked over and saw Naruto sleeping in a chair. But hadn't Naruto told him he'd come back tomorrow...? Just how long had he been asleep? "...Naruto," he whispered, his throat still dry. The blonde's head shot up like a rocket as he looked around quickly, his blue eyes landing on Sasuke after just a moment. Naruto smiled sleepily. "Hey Sasuke, it's good to see you up again."

"How long was I asleep?" when Naruto heard his friend's voice the blonde quickly grabbed the glass of water that was on the table next to the bed and handed it to him before turning the light over the bed on. Sasuke got a long drink of water, feeling how his throat couldn't seem to get enough of the clear liquid before he handed it back to Naruto. "Oh, uh...not that long...about a day, I suppose." He nodded to Naruto and closed his eyes, thinking that it really hadn't seemed that long to him at all.

"...Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"I really am glad that you're back..." Well he already knew that. The blonde had been trying to get him back for years, so Naruto should be ecstatic that he was back, although it was very much against his will. Again, Sasuke just nodded, feeling lips against his own half a moment later. His eyes shot open and he sat up as he pushed Naruto away from him. He stared at the blonde who was sitting in the chair, still. "What the hell!" Naruto looked down as if he were hurt by his lover or something of the sort. "I'm sorry, Sasuke..."

Sasuke shook his head, trying to forget what just happened, but it was stuck in his mind, making him feel horrible. Only Itachi could kiss him; only Itachi could touch him. He had betrayed his brother... "No, explain yourself. Why did you do that?" it was the most he had said at one time since he had woken up in the hospital bed the day before. Naruto just stayed silent for a few moments. "I'm...sorry, Sasuke... I just... I thought that you'd remember... But I guess... I guess Tsunade-baa-chan was right..."

He was so confused. Naruto kissed him because the blonde thought that he'd remember something... What in the world was Naruto on? "I have no idea what you're going on about, Naruto." Naruto looked up at him and smiled slightly and he could tell immediately that it was fake. It was so sickly sweet that there was no way that it could have been real. Naruto was upset because he didn't know what he was talking about and so the blonde must have thought it best to just cover up his disappointment with a smile.

"That's okay, Sasuke. It doesn't matter anyways... I'm just gonna go now, all right?" Naruto didn't even wait for an answer before he got up and left the room quickly. Sasuke couldn't pretend that he was sorry about something that he knew nothing about so he just lay back down after switching off the light so that he could stare up at the ceiling once again. He was curious about what Naruto had been talking about though. Perhaps later he'd talk to Tsunade about it and maybe she could provide some answers for him.

He never even realized that he had closed his eyes until he was almost asleep, but then it was too late and he drifted off once again.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"_Sasuke, you can't leave! You can't go to Orochimaru for power!" _He looked around him. He couldn't see anything but black, but then slowly a picture came into focus around him. It was Naruto and himself...in Final Valley... This had to be a dream then, or a memory. Something explainable like that, because there was no way that he could be watching himself when he was standing no more than a hundred feet away.

"_I have my own path, Naruto. Revenge; I have to get my revenge for what he did..."_ He didn't even understand why he was seeing this. Yes, he and Naruto had fought in Final Valley, but it was nothing that he thought that he really needed to remember—it had happened years ago. He watched as the fight ensued and the entire time he wondered just why he was seeing all this.

"_I'm not going to let you go to him!"_

"_Why... Why do you fight so hard to keep me here when you know it's no use?"_ Sasuke was transfixed for a moment by the nonexistent screens around him as he looked over at Naruto, who whispered something. What was that? He couldn't hear it... Now he was bothered by the fact that he didn't know what Naruto had said!

"_Because Sasuke, we have a bond, you and I, and I'll risk my life to keep it safe..."_ Yes, he knew that; he'd been there when Naruto had said that! He just wanted to know what Naruto had whispered! He...he _had_ to know, but he couldn't understand why. But this was his dream, wasn't it? There had to be some way that he could hear it, right? He just...maybe if he concentrated on what he wanted to hear... Maybe then... So he concentrated and he saw the memory back up a bit.

"_Why... Why do you fight so hard to keep me here when you know it's no use?"_ This time everything focused on Naruto, zooming in on his face. There was suddenly no sound, which shocked him for a moment as he hadn't realized that there could be such silence in the world, but as he stood there he read the blonde's lips. Then seconds later everything was back to normal as if none of it had ever happened.

"_Because Sasuke, we have a bond, you and I, and I'll risk my life to keep it safe..."_

"_Then you'll die here trying to protect it!"_ Everything started to blur and then the entire area was black, just as it had been when all of it began, but he could still hear the sounds of the fight going on.

"_SASUKEEEEE!"_

"_NARUTOOOOO!"_ He remembered that. That was when they had charged at each other, and a few moments later he heard the sound of falling water.

"_Naruto... I..."_ For some reason...he couldn't remember what he was going to say to Naruto back then, though he doubted that it was anything that important. Slowly, all the sounds faded out around him and he looked down to find that he was fading as well.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, trying to get them to adjust to the harsh light in the room. When his eyes did adjust after a few seconds he looked around slowly, noticing that Naruto wasn't there. Only then did he remember what had happened hours before. But wait, it had been hours, right? He hadn't been out another day without noticing it, had he? Before he could even really begin thinking about it Tsunade walked in the door quietly and, when she saw that Sasuke was awake, nodded in greeting, which he didn't return.

She came over and checked him out to make sure he was okay, which he was quite sure that he was, and a few minutes later she was on her way back to the door again, but he stopped her. "Hokage-sama, wait..." she stopped and looked back at him. Sasuke motioned for her to come back and she did, standing next to his bed as he sat up and looked at her. "Naruto was in my room last night..." she nodded. "He told me about it."

"What is it that I was supposed to remember?" Tsunade shook her head and started towards the door again. "It doesn't matter; it's not important anymore so don't worry about it." And with that she was gone and he was even more curious than he had been before, especially after what he had seen in that dream...or memory...

"_Why... Why do you fight so hard to keep me here when you know it's no use?"_

"_Because Sasuke, we have a bond, you and I, and I'll risk my life to keep it safe..."_

It had been what he had seen whispered in between that just made him wonder all the more about everything that had been going on since he had woken up in the damned hospital.

"_Because... I love you, Sasuke..."_

**TBC...**

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A/N: Here is the edited chapter one. I hope that you enjoyed it and will perhaps review. Thank you.

SandXDemonX13

TTYFTDS


	2. Chapter 2

Rating: T

Pairings: One-sided Sasu/Naru and mentions of a former Sasu/Naru relationship.

Warnings: A bit a language, mentions of rape, talk of character death and mentions of shonen-ai. So if you don't like then don't read!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**The Aftermath**

**Chapter two**

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It had been hours since he had seen anyone and he was beginning to think that he wasn't going to see anyone for the rest of the day. That didn't particularly bother him except that he wanted to talk with Naruto so that he could speak with the blonde about what had happened, although he doubted that he'd get any answers... He knew that it was best to get his mind off of Itachi though, and thinking about this was probably the best, and only, way to do so right at the moment.

He sat in the hospital bed thinking and staring out the open window, listening to the birds chirping and the wind blowing. His eyes moved quickly when he thought he heard the door begin to open, but once he looked at it it stopped moving, if it had actually moved at all. So he supposed that if someone was on the other side of the door they must have been contemplating whether to come in or not. Just a moment later the door opened and the very teen he had been wishing to speak with walked in slowly, closing the door behind him quietly as he got into a comfortable standing position next to it, making Sasuke think that Naruto was afraid to come closer to him.

"Hey," Naruto looked around the room, avoiding his friend's eyes at all costs. "How are you?" Sasuke looked at the teen for a moment before shrugging, knowing very well that the blonde saw. "Why are you acting like this?" Naruto looked down at the floor and sighed, seeming to relax a little bit. "I just... I'm sorry about what happened. I don't want things to be weird between us, okay...?" he just nodded before Naruto got the courage to take a step closer to him.

"I do want to talk about it though, Naruto." Naruto looked up at him and Sasuke saw the hesitation in the blue eyes, but after a few seconds the blonde nodded slowly. "What was I supposed to remember?" Naruto backed up into the door suddenly as he put on another fake smile, almost making Sasuke look away from him. "Oh, it's nothing, Sasuke. Don't worry about it, all right?" Before Sasuke could even open his mouth to protest Naruto had opened the door, backed out quickly and shut it again. He sighed. Something was going on and he was going to get to the bottom of it no matter what.

He lay back against the pillow as he closed his eyes, trying to search his memories for anything—anything that could help him figure out what was going on since Naruto and Tsunade weren't willing to explain anything to him. As he continued to lay there the door opened again but he didn't bother sitting up; he didn't even bother paying attention to who it was. At least he didn't pay attention until the high pitch voice began up next to him. So once he opened his eyes and looked to his side he found, not so much to his surprise, that Sakura was standing next to his bed smiling happily. "How are you today, Sasuke-kun?" he simply shrugged.

"Do you happen to know what is wrong with Naruto? He seems awfully upset today...and last night as well, now that I think about it..." he looked away from her and stared at the wall in front of him as a thought ran through his mind. It was quite a long shot, but maybe she knew something about it... "Last night there was an incident." Sakura gasped and put her hand on her cheek, obviously worried about Naruto. "What happened? Was he hurt?"

"Emotionally, I would say yes."

"What happened, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked back at her and sighed. He figured he might as well just tell her, though he was actually amazed that Naruto hadn't gone to her to talk about it. "He kissed me and was upset because I didn't remember something," he saw her eyes widened just slightly, "but I really have no idea what he was talking about." Sakura's mouth fell open in shock as she reached out just the tiniest bit but then quickly retracted her hand. "You... You mean... You really don't remember, Sasuke-kun?"

He put his hand on his forehead and sighed once again. "Remember what? What is all this about, Sakura?" she just continued to stand there for a moment before she quickly turned around and walked towards the door like everyone else had. "It's... I-It's nothing, Sasuke-kun. Don't worry about it." She quickly left the room, leaving him feeling even more frustrated than when Naruto had left. Why was everyone doing this to him? First it was his brother leaving him and not explaining himself, now it was only worse as it seemed that everyone believed he couldn't understand what was going on.

Slowly, he took in a deep, calming breath as he looked up at the ceiling. It helped just the tiniest bit. His onyx eyes closed as he began to search through his memories again, looking for anything that could be even the tiniest bit useful to him. Sasuke simply never realized that he had fallen asleep.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"_S-Sasuke... Please..."_ Here he was again, though he didn't even remember falling asleep this time. But why did this keep happening to him? Why did these things keep playing out for him? He had recognized the voice that had spoken as Naruto's, there was just no getting around that voice; it was unique. He looked around the blackness and slowly a picture faded into focus. At first it was very blurry and so he didn't exactly know what he was seeing, but once it had cleared completely he simply couldn't believe his eyes.

"_Tell me what you want, Naruto."_ There was _absolutely_ no way that _this_ was real; _no way_ that _this_ had _ever_ happened, and no way that _this_ was a dream. He stared at the two of them in front of him as "he" had Naruto pinned up against a tree in the training field. He knew that that was him talking, he could see his lips moving against Naruto's ear as he said the words in a deep, husky voice. But...no, this could just _not possibly_ have happened.

"_More... Sasuke, please... M-more..."_ He was horrified as he saw himself bend to the will of the younger teen, kissing Naruto's neck, unzipping and peeling off the blonde's jacket slowly before slipping his hand underneath the black t-shirt. He was appalled as he watched the scene. Appalled because there was just no freaking way that this had ever happened; he would never, never in his life, touch Naruto like...like "he" was touching him in this..._thing_... Whatever the hell this was, for this was not a memory—not a dream, as he was quite sure that he had never though of Naruto like this in his life.

"_God, Naruto, you always taste so good."_ His eyes closed tightly as he willed the scene around him to go away. Willed it to just stop; willed himself to forget that he had even seen it. He was Itachi's and Itachi's alone. Nobody else could touch him and he would never touch another living soul. So why was this happening to him? Sasuke opened his eyes slowly as he noticed that there were no sounds and he saw only black in front of him. He felt slightly proud of himself because he had made it go away; he was proud because he was learning how to control things here, wherever _here_ happened to be...

"_Come here, Sasuke-kun."_ A shock ran through his body suddenly, freezing him to the spot when he heard that voice, that horribly dreaded voice. Sasuke looked around frantically as a fuzzy picture faded in slowly, spending much more time getting clear than the other had.

"_What do you want?"_

"_Just come sit with me here, Sasuke-kun."_ The picture was clear, much to his dismay, and he could see himself and...that man...in his hideout. Orochimaru. The name, just the thought of the name, sent chills down his spine in remembrance. The man was sitting on his throne-like chair, patting his leg for him to come and sit on. He could remember that he hadn't wanted to, but he knew that he hadn't wanted to make the man unhappy... "He" took a few steps closer to the man but would not sit with him.

"_What do you want, Orochimaru?"_ Sasuke swallowed the knot in his throat as he watched the scene. Orochimaru smiled at him and again patted his leg. Now he was shaking his head as he watched all of this, trying to speak and yell out for himself to stop.

"_I just...need to speak with you, Sasuke-kun. Now, come and sit with me."_ Sasuke saw himself sigh but go and sit on the snake's lap. His eyes closed tightly as he again tried to will the picture around him to just go. He couldn't go on listening; he couldn't go on watching. He couldn't just stand around and live it all again!

"_W-What the hell are you doing? Don't fucking touch me!"_

"_My, my, Sasuke-kun, you are a feisty one... Then again, I wouldn't have it any other way."_ He flinched as he heard the sound of clothes being ripped off and of "him" struggling to get away from the man who was doing this. But what he was actually concerned about right now was why this damn memory hadn't gone away... Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, only seeing black around him. He had willed the picture away, but not the sound...why? Why not the sound? He collapsed against the black, invisible floor beneath him in tears as he heard himself scream from Orochimaru penetrating him—raping him. He could remember it all too well. Slowly the sounds of his screams and protests faded into white noise and then slowly faded to nothing, leaving him in only the silence with the sound of his sobs.

"_Now Sasuke-kun, really, it wasn't that bad."_

"_Leave me the hell alone..."_ He could hear himself say the words as sound came back into existence minutes later, knowing that at least he had been spared the worst of it. Yet he remembered it and so there was no sparing him. He could remember that this horrible experience had been the final straw that had driven him to kill Orochimaru. He could remember the pain; anguish, agony, hatred and rage... All aimed at one man, the man who had made it all possible over those few minutes of pleasure that only the snake bastard got. Sasuke didn't need a picture played out for him to remember that Orochimaru had taken a single step toward him after he had put his clothes back on...but that was all it had taken.

"_Ugh!"_ That was all it had taken for it all to come out. The pain, anguish, agony, hatred, rage; everything. It was all directed at that one man—the man who had degraded him, who had abused him, who had broken him! The man had _deserved_ to die!

**XxXxXxXxX**

Sasuke opened his eyes slowly, staring out into the darkness again. He could feel the tears in his eyes and the dried tear-stains on his cheeks, letting him know he'd been crying in his sleep. Reaching up slowly he wiped the tears from his eyes with one hand and then flipped the light on over his bed with the other. Nothing was new in the room as he surveyed it after a moment, seeing that it was still as drab and as white as ever. He reached over to grab the glass of water next to the bed on the table and while he was in the middle of getting a drink his eye caught a flash of white.

His onyx eyes stared at it for long moments as he continued to hold the glass against his lips, finding that this white he was staring at wasn't drab; it wasn't the same boring white of the room around him. It was a different white, a beautiful white, and yet he didn't understand why. But the longer that Sasuke looked at it the more he realized that it was a flower. One lone beautiful white Chrysanthemum sitting in the vase proudly that he was staring at. So someone had been here while he was asleep, hmm? He didn't doubt that Tsunade had been around to check on him, but he highly doubted that she would have left him a flower.

That only left a few people that would have brought him a flower. Sakura, Ino and Naruto, and he was very much doubting that last one. Naruto wasn't the type to bring people flowers. Sakura and Ino were girls and would be much more likely to do something like this than any guy ever would. Finally, though he just stopped wondering about the flower and placed the glass of water back on the table where it had been. Sasuke's eyes shifted to the window for a moment and he noticed that the sun was beginning to rise. _...I've really got to stop sleeping this long..._

Moments later he heard the door to his room open and footsteps approach his bed, but he didn't turn to see who it was. "Do you like the flower?" The voice caught his full attention but he still refused to turn and look. That voice. There was just no way...but that voice. It was so unique; it could be no one else. Had Naruto actually gotten him the Chrysanthemum? After a moment he nodded slightly, "It's very beautiful, thank you, Naruto. But...why?" He turned to look at the blonde, who was closer to him than he had been the last time he had seen him. Naruto sat on the end of his bed and smiled lightly.

"I talked to Ino about it... She said that white ones mean truth... Tsunade-baa-chan says I shouldn't say anything about this...and Sakura-chan agrees with her about it.. But _I_ think that you deserve to hear the truth, Sasuke..." This piqued his interest immensely. "The truth about what exactly, Naruto?" The younger teen swallowed and stayed quiet for a moment before moving a little bit closer to Sasuke.

"I can't tell you everything right now and I'm sorry that I can't... But what I can tell you is that...what you were..._are_...supposed to remember...is that..." Naruto trailed off and looked down at the bed before standing up. The blonde walked around the room and looked out the window, then at the flower. "You... Before you left... Before you got the curse mark... Before all of it happened... You told me that you'd be all mine once you killed your brother..." Sasuke was confused; he couldn't remember ever saying anything like that. He looked at Naruto, who had his back to him. "Naruto, what are you talking about? I never said anything of the sort."

Naruto turned around and looked at him with tears in his eyes. Sasuke leaned back in his bed some, finding the sight in front of him one that he didn't want to see. "I know that you don't remember... I know that you don't remember any of it... But Sasuke, before you left...w-we were lovers... You were my boyfriend..." Naruto shook his head and walked over to him, grabbing one of his hand in both of his. "Sasuke, when you got that curse mark... Something...something went wrong..."

He took a deep breath and looked away from Naruto, not being able to believe some of the things that were coming out of the teen's mouth. "I don't believe you, Naruto," he said quietly, hearing the blonde sigh beside him. His hand was dropped into his lap and a moment later he saw Naruto in his field of vision again, this time at the door. "Why did you bother telling me this, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at him and a tear fell down his tan cheek. "Because I love you, Sasuke...and you deserve to know the truth..." Naruto opened the door and walked out after he spoke, shutting the door softly behind him, leaving Sasuke alone to think about everything that he had said.

Sasuke just simply couldn't believe it. There was just no way that they had been lovers, absolutely no way in the world. He didn't like Naruto like that; he had never had any sort of interest in the other teen. The only person that he had any interest in was Itachi...

Although, now that he began to think about it, something was starting to click in the very back of his mind, and he wasn't even aware of it. It was something Naruto had said before he left and something that he had seen in the blackness of his memory.

"_Because I love you, Sasuke..."_

"_Because... I love you, Sasuke..."_

**TBC...**

* * *

A/N: Here is the edited chapter two. I hope that you enjoyed it and I hope that you will perhaps review. Thank you.

SandXDemonX13

TTYFTDS


	3. Chapter 3

Rating: T

Pairings: One-sided Sasu/Naru and mentions of a former Sasu/Naru relationship.

Warnings: Mentions of shonen-ai and a tiny bit of language, but that's about it for this chapter, so if you don't like then don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own Tatsuya, Hayashi Aiko and Asukai Rikako, who will be in the story from here on out.

* * *

**The Aftermath**

**Chapter three**

* * *

"You never should have kissed him in the first place. I forbade you from having any physical contact with him. I forbade you from giving him any information, and you went against my orders," Tsunade said looking at Naruto, who was standing across from her. Naruto sighed deeply. "I just told him about me and him...and he didn't even believe that, so I think it's fine."

Tsunade stood from her chair and looked at Naruto sympathetically. "Naruto, I understand that this hurts, but you're just going to have to live with it. I'm sorry." Naruto's gaze shifted to the floor and his hands clenched into fists for a moment before relaxing. "You... You expect me to just..._live_ with this," he brought a hand up to clench at his chest.

"You just don't understand...how much this hurts... I can't kiss him... I can barely be around him because it brings back so much! So much that he doesn't even remember! And you tell me that I'm just going to have to _live_ with it... I've been _living_ with it for years, and this pain just keeps getting worse!" Their eyes met when he looked back up and she saw the tears building up.

She could only feel sorry for him and feel bad about everything that he had been through, but she knew that there was nothing that she could say or do to make everything okay. "I'm releasing him from the hospital today. I want him to stay with you, if that's all right," he could only nod as he wiped his eyes before Tsunade walked around her desk and out of the room, heading to the hospital to release the Uchiha.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Sasuke blinked as he stared at the white wall in front of him, bored. He wanted to leave already. He wanted to leave the hospital and leave Konoha; he couldn't stand being here any longer, even if it had only been a couple of days...now all he needed was a way to escape the village. He was sick of this place and he wanted to leave and go back to Itachi. "Even if he doesn't want me anymore... I'm his..." Sasuke caught him talking to himself for the fourth time in the past hour because of his brother.

Every day that he had been away from his brother just hurt him more and more, and every day that he had to remember something it simply killed him. Because of Itachi's leaving him he was already suicidal, but because of these damn...memories, or whatever the hell they happened to be, he was really on the brink now.

His eyes darted over to the door when he heard it begin to open and a moment later Tsunade and Naruto were standing in the room, Naruto shutting the door behind them. "I'm discharging you," she said walking up to his bed. Sasuke nearly sighed, finding that it was almost as if he had had his prayers answered. But as he made a move to get out of bed Tsunade held her hand up, letting him know that he needed to hold on a minute so that she could crush his dreams of running away. "You're going to be staying with Naruto."

No. No, he didn't want that; he hadn't expected that... All he had wanted was to go back to the Uchiha compound that way he could escape the village with ease, but, of course, now this wasn't going to be easy. "Why?" for some reason he found himself asking the question. "I just feel that you should stay with him for a while." He felt like shaking his head and telling her that he didn't need to, but he felt like that would make both of them suspicious of him.

Sasuke nodded slightly. "...All right, if that's what you think is best," he said quietly before getting out of bed and walking around her to the other side of the room to get his clothes that Naruto had brought him the first day that he was here. He heard the door open and shut as he was turned around and began changing before he turned around to look, finding that Tsunade had left but that Naruto was still in the room, and watching him out of the corner of his eye.

There was silence as he changed, throwing the hospital gown on the chair that his clothes had been on when it was vacated by his clothing. He turned around and looked at Naruto, making the blonde look up at him with a light blush on his cheeks. They stared at each other for a few minutes, tension mounting. "Are we going to go?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence with ease.

Naruto blinked and shook his head, nodding quickly there after before he turned around and walked to the door without a word. Sasuke just shook his head and followed as they left the room.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Hours later, Sasuke looked at Naruto as they sat across from each other, eating dinner. Ever since they had gotten to Naruto's home, quite soon after they had left the hospital, Naruto had been acting oddly. Sasuke didn't quite know if it was because of what had happened before when Naruto told him the supposed truth or if it was because of something else entirely. And although he felt an urge to ask him just what the hell was wrong, he didn't. He found the silence between them very nice, a little odd, but nice.

The silence gave him a chance to think—think about what he wanted to do, what he was determined to do. Of course he wasn't going to do it _now_, Naruto was watching his every move like he was keeping him under surveillance. But once the blonde went to sleep...well then that would be the perfect time.

And as they continued to eat Naruto watched Sasuke, finding that he was breaking down a little. He wanted to talk to the other teen, but he couldn't. He was too afraid that he would end up saying something he knew he shouldn't, and even as he just sat in silence watching the onyx-eyed teen across from him he found so much hitting him, so much of their past. It was so much that it made him hurt so horribly bad that he just wanted to get away from it.

Naruto stopped eating and after a few moments he pushed his food away from him, feeling disgusted by it. After another few seconds he stood from the table and left without another word. Soon after the blonde left the table Sasuke heard Naruto's door shut so he set his chopsticks down and stood from the table himself, relieved that Naruto had finally left, although he didn't know how long the teen would be gone. Not that he was all that worried about it.

He glanced at the clock, noting that it was nearing ten o'clock just before he walked off to the guest room that Naruto had made up for him. Once he was shut the door he went to the bed and sat down, thinking about his escape plan.

It wasn't like he actually had a real plan. Sasuke's "plan" was to go with the flow, more or less, and hope that he wasn't caught. He figured that planning things out would take too long, and he felt that he didn't have time to wait for a plan to formulate in his mind. So whenever he felt that it was late enough he was just going to leave, since he guessed that Naruto went off to bed and wouldn't be bothering him the rest of the night.

And even if the blonde did come to check on him at some point in the night he most likely wasn't going to even be around.

**XxXxXxXxX**

It had been nearly four days ago since they had begun heading to Konoha in search of Sasuke, and it was really beginning to seem like they were just never going to make it. For all of their talents the three girls that were looking for Sasuke had no idea in the world how to get to Konohagakure and it was really beginning to get to them.

"You know, I would think that you could figure out how to get us out of this forest, Aiko," one of the three said to her comrade, Aiko. There was no answer from either of the two other girls, one of which was writing in a notebook while the other was looking around at the trees. The one who spoke before looked at the two, but said nothing more as her red eyes searched their surroundings in the moonlight, making the black flecks in the red irises less noticeable.

"Tatsuya..." the dark-haired girl looked over at her redheaded comrade, who stopped writing in her notebook for a quick moment. "Sasuke's coming," was the only other thing she said before she began writing again, the blue tips of her hair falling in front of her face as she looked down at her notebook. Tatsuya nodded before she leaned against a tree, willing to wait on Sasuke, not really concerned in the least about why he was coming out here in the first place.

While they waited Tatsuya shifted slightly, causing the moonlight to catch the headband strapped to her arm and glint off it, showing off the Otogakure insignia that had a slash through it.

**XxXxXxXxX**

It was after one o'clock in the morning and he was running desperately through the forest, glancing behind him every once in a while to make sure that no one was following him, though he knew that it was quite foolish to think that someone was following him, but he was just being cautious. The farther that he ran from the village that he used to call home years ago the better he began to feel, and he was able to breathe a little easier as he ran deeper into the forest.

Sasuke knew that he was overdoing it and that he would have to stop and rest soon, but he wanted to make sure that he was as far away from Konoha as he could get before he had to stop. He slowed his running, hoping that if he slowed down then he would be able to get farther, and once he slowed he began to hear voices off in the distance. He couldn't make out any words he could only hear voices, and he began to get curious.

His curiosity drew him in the direction of the voices—voices that stopped the moment he began to get a little bit nearer to them. His brow furrowed in frustration before he decided to just go on his way and ignore whatever he had heard, but the moment he turned to go he heard a familiar voice, "He'll come in a moment." He tried to remember where he had heard the voice before, but he wasn't successful in remembering.

So after a moment he decided to go toward the voice, wondering who the person had been talking about. After a couple of seconds of walking he entered a clearing where two teenage girls stood and one sat on the ground. "Oh, you're so good, Aiko!" exclaimed the blue-eyed blonde sitting on the ground just before she jumped up and ran over to Sasuke excitedly. "Uke-chan! I can't believe that you're here!"

Sasuke grimaced as he heard the nickname that he so hated. He looked the girl in front of him over and knew who it was instantly from her blonde, pink streaked hair. "Rikako... I told you to stop calling me that," he growled out, making the girl smile. "Uke-chan, you remember me!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed as she hugged him happily. "Of course, Rikako. It's only been, what? A few weeks since I last saw you," he said emotionlessly, although on the inside he was quite happy to see the girl.

"But it felt like fooooreeever, Uke-chan! I've missed you soooooooo much!" Rikako said, acting overdramatic, as she always had. "Well this has just been a lovely reunion, but really we need to be going," Aiko said as she walked over, writing in her notebook like always. "Aiko, you too?" Sasuke asked, not nearly surprised to see her with Rikako.

Aiko didn't give him an answer to the stupid question he had asked. "Where's Tatsuya then, is she with you?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of silence, his excitement building as he anxiously waited to see the girl, knowing that she had to be with them, as the group of three never traveled without one another. "Well I would never let Rikako go off on her own, even if she is with Aiko." Sasuke spun around when he heard Tatsuya's voice behind him and he smiled at her. "You can never trust Rikako."

"Never," Tatsuya agreed jokingly while Rikako went on smiling as if she wasn't being talked about right in front of her own face. Sasuke smiled again as memories from the year he had spent with Itachi and the three girls resurfaced, but he shook his head after a moment to clear his thoughts. "Uh... Aiko... She said that you all need to be going. Where are you headed?"

Rikako suddenly latched onto Sasuke's arm. "Konohagakure, Uke-chan! Do you know how to get there?" Excitement and curiosity laced her voice as she asked him, causing Tatsuya to look at Rikako like she was an idiot, which was a look the younger girl often got from the elder. "Of course he does, he lives there," she said in her monotone to the bubbly blonde girl. Rikako's eyes lit up as she suddenly remembered that Sasuke did, in fact, live in the village. "Oooh, that's right!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and patted Rikako's hand gently.

"Why are you out here anyway, Uke-chan?" Rikako asked, and Sasuke began to wonder if they would take him back to Itachi. "...I'm running away," he said simply, making Rikako's eyes widen with curiosity. "Why, Uke-chan?" Sasuke didn't answer for a moment as he wondered why she had to use that ridiculous nickname every time she said anything to him. "I am going to back to Itachi."

Both Rikako and Aiko looked to Tatsuya as the dark-haired girl stood there quietly, staring up at the moon. "Come on, Sasuke. We better get you back to the village," she said softly, looking at Sasuke after a moment as the raven-haired teen gave her an odd look. "What are you talking about? I'm not going back!" he was beginning to get agitated and he didn't bother hiding it around them. There was a moment of silence as the three girls looked between each other.

"Sasuke, we'll explain once we take you back," Tatsuya said, attempting to do this the easy way, but Sasuke glared at her. "No, I'm not going back, Tatsuya!" The girl shook her head and sighed before simply staring at Sasuke for a moment. "Got it," she stated and a moment later Rikako knocked Sasuke out so that they could take him back to Konoha without a fight.

**TBC...**

* * *

A/N: Here is the edited chapter three. I hope that you enjoyed it and I hope that you will perhaps review. Thank you.

SandXDemonX13

TTYFTDS


	4. Chapter 4

Rating: T

Pairings: Ita/Sasu, one-sided Sasu/Naru

Warnings: A bit of incest, bit of language and talk of character death, so if you don't like then go away.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own Tatsuya, Hayashi Aiko and Asukai Rikako.

* * *

**The Aftermath**

**Chapter four**

* * *

It had been hours since they had returned to the village with Sasuke, and without being noticed at that, not that they were surprised about it. So the three girls sat around in Naruto's living room while Sasuke was lying unconscious on the couch with Tatsuya kneeled next to it, her eyes closed and her fingertip on Sasuke's temple. All the while Rikako went on oohing and aahing nearly everything that she saw in Naruto's home.

"Oh! Aiko! Have you seen this? It's just adorable!" Rikako held up the little figurine of a cat that she was nearly shrieking about in her whispering tone. The shriek was the only thing that made Aiko look up from her notebook to stare at her blonde comrade coldly. "Rikako, would you shut up. Tatsuya is trying to concentrate," it was the truth in a sense, but Aiko was saying it so that she could get some peace and quiet as well.

Rikako made a small o shape with her mouth as she nodded slowly, putting the figurine back down. Just a moment later her eyes began scanning the room, attempting to find something that she _hadn't_ already shown to Aiko, and quickly she noticed something shiny. "Oh!" Aiko's eyes shut in annoyance as Rikako ran over to what she had seen. "Oh...it was just a pan... Bummer." Aiko's jaw clenched tightly before she snapped, throwing her notebook to the ground before she jumped from her seat, which was very much unlike her as she was usually quiet and level-headed.

"Rikako! Shut up! Just shut up! Ten minutes of silence is all I'm asking for! Tatsuya is trying to concentrate and with you going on neither of us can do anything! So just _shut your mouth_!" her words were whispered, but only barely so as she very nearly screamed at the blonde girl, causing Rikako to pout a little. "Aiko," Tatsuya broke in quietly as her eyebrow twitched from hearing all the sudden commotion. "I can concentrate with her going on, I do it all the time. Now both of you, sit down and be quiet until I'm finished."

Aiko took a deep breath to compose herself before she nodded in apology and sat back down, picking her notebook up off the floor after she sat. Rikako nodded as well and walked over to Aiko, plopping down to sit on the ground next to the girl who had just snapped at her. Both of the elder girls relished in the silence and began again with what they had been doing.

Tatsuya sat still, concentrated again on infiltrating Sasuke's mind, and not for the first time in her life—or in the past minute in a half for that matter, and after a few moments she easily succeeded. What flashed across her mind amazed her; all of his memories still amazed her, and as she dug her way deeper into his mind things began to darken. It was expected, she had seen it before and so she just continued to press on. "...Itachi-sama was right," she commented upon coming across what Itachi had spoken to her about as she began to pull herself from Sasuke's mind.

A smile suddenly appeared on her lips just before she broke the contact with his mind and opened her eyes.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"_Rikako! What did you do to me while I was sleeping?"_ Sasuke opened his eyes, or at least he believed that he did, but all he saw was blackness around him. He then realized instantly that he was again in the place where his memories resided, or whatever they were, since he still didn't know just what that thing he had witnessed between himself and Naruto had been. It took only moments for a picture to sudenly pop up around him, and a smile made its way onto his lips.

"_Well... It was Itachi-sama's idea, Uke-chan!"_ Sasuke shook his head as he watched himself yank the cat ears off his head and throw them on the floor before he began looking around angrily for Itachi. _"Well where is he?"_ Suddenly Itachi was behind him in the memory and kissing him on the cheek, making him actually reach up and touch his cheek as he watched the man, as he wished that Itachi were here with him now.

"_I thought it made you look cute. Actually...it made you look even sexier than you already are."_ The comment from the Itachi in the memory still caused Sasuke to blush even as he heard it now. He just had never gotten used to the compliments that the man constantly threw out, but he had gotten better at hearing them...much better he realized, seeing as when he had first begun hearing them he had yelled at Itachi and covered his ears.

"_You _did_ look cute, Sasuke. Rikako showed me a picture that she took while you were sleeping."_ Sasuke nearly laughed aloud as he watched Tatsuya hold up the picture that she was speaking about, purposely trying to make him angrier with the blonde by telling him that information. _"Itachi-sama looked like he was going to go find you and molest you when he first saw it."_ He watched as Itachi gave Tatsuya a look before walking over to her and plucking the picture from her fingers easily while he himself was fuming and looking at his brother incredulously, if it were even really possible to do both at the same time.

"_Okay, love. Look, no more picture; so calm down or I'll have to take you back to our room."_ His memory-brother's words made his heart hurt as he looked down so that he wouldn't have to see anymore of the memory. _"Well...did you ever think that maybe I _want_ you take me back to our room?"_ A smirk formed on his lips as he heard his brother's footsteps in the memory and he knew that Itachi was nearing the memory-him, because of course Itachi couldn't resist words like that.

"_Well, let us go then."_ There was only silence following the words, and so Sasuke that he was safe. He thought that he could look up and not have to see his brother. But the moment that he decided to look he instantly regretted it. There had only been silence because the picture was frozen as if it were taunting him with what he could no longer have; the picture had frozen just as Itachi had leaned down and kissed him briefly on the lips. The picture that he saw frozen around him simply broke him even more.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Rikako looked at the two elder girls that were sitting around her before she finally spoke. "...Tatsuya...?" the girl in question looked at the blonde and nodded, allowing her to go on, not really realizing how long the younger had been silent for. "I'm bored," she complained quietly and Aiko nearly sighed, but thankfully held it back. "Well you know what? You were so good earlier that I'm going to let you do one thing," Tatsuya said to the blonde, causing Rikako's face to light up as she sat up a little straighter. "Really? What is it?" Tatsuya simply shrugged as she closed her eyes and that made Rikako deflate.

"I don't know because I'm giving you permission to do whatever you want; just one thing that you have always wanted to do," Tatsuya explained like it was nothing, but to Rikako it was everything and she squealed loudly, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be being quiet as she jumped up, knowing exactly what she wanted to do. It only took her a second as she took a look at Aiko, launching herself at the red-haired girl a second later, hugging her tightly.

Aiko sat there in complete shock as the pen dropped from her hand. "What do you _think_ you're doing?" she asked the younger blonde girl in a hostile whisper. Rikako just smiled widely before she pulled away from their one-sided embrace and plopped back down on the floor, completely content. "I've aaaaalwaaaays wanted to do that!" she exclaimed in a giddy tone.

Suddenly, a giggle broke out from the hallway, making the three girls turn to look at who was there. Peeking out from around the wall was a boy with spiky, golden blonde hair, holding a hand over his mouth to hold his giggles back. "Who are you? What are you laughing at?" Rikako asked loudly, in a tone that half demanded an answer. The teen walked into the room and smiled at the girls as he finally pulled himself together. "I'm laughing at you; you're funny," he told Rikako, who smiled brightly before jumping up and walking over to him, intent on making friends with him.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Tatsuya said, answering Rikako's first question to the blonde male, who looked over at her questioningly. "...How did you know my name?" Rikako didn't give time for the dark-haired girl to answer as she jumped back into Naruto's view. "Don't worry about that, Kitsune-chan! We're just here to tell Uke-chan something!" Naruto ran the new nickname for himself through his mind a few times and mentally shrugged, knowing that there could have been much worse that he could have been called, but he nearly began laughing again when he heard "Uke-chan."

"I assume you're talking about Sasuke," he said with restrained laughter in his voice as the blonde girl nodded vigorously, pointing to the couch where Sasuke was still laying unconscious. "He was running away, Kitsune-chan, but we found him and brought him here so that we could tell him something." Neither Aiko nor Tatsuya figured that Naruto would react badly to that news that his ex-lover had attempted to run away, but they didn't know him at all. "...But he won't wake up, Kitsune-chan, so we can't tell him!" Rikako seemed greatly troubled by this, but Naruto wasn't all that concerned.

"HE WHAT!" his yell was enough to finally wake Sasuke, who opened his eyes groggily and groaned softly. Rikako squealed in happiness the moment that she saw that her friend was awake. "Yay! Kitsune-chan, you woke him up!" everyone, for the most part, ignored her as Sasuke wasn't completely awake yet and the other two girls were watching as Naruto went over to his friend and glared at him. "You ran away? Just where did you expect to go?" Sasuke's eyes closed again and he wished for his death, and quickly. He had not wanted to hear Naruto's voice first thing when he woke...nor Rikako's for that matter, but at least he was more used to it.

"He planned on going back to Itachi-sama," Tatsuya answered Naruto's question since it seemed like Sasuke wasn't going to. The words that Sasuke heard made his eyes snap open, locating Tatsuya after a second so that he could glare at her, wishing that she had never said a thing. Though it seemed that Naruto hadn't understood what she had said for moments and so Sasuke thought that he was safe once again. But it was only after those few moments in silence had passed that realization dawned on the blonde's face. "...What does she mean by going back?"

"Damn, you just had to go and open your mouth, didn't you, Tatsuya!" the red-eyed girl hadn't realized that she had said anything wrong though and so was confused by Sasuke's reaction. "Sasuke...what's going on? You told Baa-chan and I that you killed your brother and Orochimaru," and then she understood, "Or..." Naruto trailed off, taking a step away from the couch that his ex-lover still lay upon. "Were you lying to me...?"

Sasuke sat up, still glaring at Tatsuya. "I killed Orochimaru," he confirmed, but that wasn't enough for Naruto. "But what about your brother—what about Itachi, is he still alive, Sasuke?" Finally, Sasuke looked away from Tatsuya and stared at the floor, feeling lost and hopeless. "...Yes..." he could think of nothing better than the truth at the moment.

Naruto stared at Sasuke in disbelief, truly and utterly shocked that his friend had lied to him about something like that. He was so shocked that his lover, no, ex-lover, he had to keep reminding himself, had betrayed him by lying. "But... Why would you lie—" Naruto was cut off by Aiko, "Itachi-sama is the reason why we came to speak with you, Sasuke." She was the first one to speak up about it, since she knew that Tatsuya was still refusing to. Sasuke looked up at her and nodded, waiting for her to tell him just what was going on, but she didn't.

Silence stretched for several minutes as Naruto looked in between the three girls, wondering now just who they were. "...Who are you three anyway?" he inquired curiously as his blue eyes darted from one girl to another. "Hayashi Aiko," spoke the redhead immediately after the question was asked. "Asukai Rikako!" the blonde shouted happily right after her comrade. Naruto's eyes then fell on Tatsuya, who was staring at him, "Tatsuya," she introduced herself in her normal monotone.

"Aiko, why did you all come to speak with me?" Sasuke asked, clearly unhappy about not getting his answer before now. Aiko only looked over to Rikako, who in turn looked over to Tatsuya, who sighed before leaning her head back and closing her eyes in the most uncaring manner. "I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, Sasuke," even though she said it she knew that it was going to end up being her in the end since Aiko hated giving bad news and Rikako just couldn't handle it.

"Itachi-sama is dead."

**TBC...**

* * *

A/N: Here is the edited chapter four. I hope that you enjoyed and that you will perhaps review. Thank you.

SandXDemonX13

TTYFTDS


	5. Chapter 5

Rating: T

Pairings: Ita/Sasu, one-sided Sasu/Naru and mentions of a former Sasu/Naru relationship.

Warnings: Implied incest, implied shonen-ai and language, if you don't like then don't read.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own Tatsuya, Hayashi Aiko and Asukai Rikako.

* * *

**The Aftermath**

**Chapter five**

* * *

He couldn't breathe. _No..._ He wanted to die. _No... He can't be..._ He couldn't feel anything and his vision had failed him, leaving him in the dark. _Anything but that..._ Somewhere, somehow, he felt that his body was falling for a moment. _Oh, God, please... No..._ He was terrified.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted the other teen's name frantically as he held the elder in his arms. "Sasuke, breathe dammit!" but Sasuke did not, not even after Naruto slapped his face time and time again. He was just in too much shock as he stared at the ceiling but did not see it.

_No, not dead... Anything but dead..._ He wanted so badly to go back in time; he wanted so badly to just be with his brother again. Sasuke wanted so badly to just die. _Please, no..._ He wanted to be able to do something—to be able to prove that his brother was not dead, but he couldn't. _Itachi...no... You can't leave me, not again..._ He was desperate.

"Sasuke! God..." Naruto looked around the room, his eyes falling on the three girls after a moment as he saw that none of them seemed alarmed at all. "Will one of you fucking help?" Not one of them said a thing and Tatsuya was the only one to move, opening her eyes and lifting her head up so that she could watch as her friend lay on the floor, lost.

_No, no, no..._ He could feel how close he was to the nothingness that he had been told his brother was now in and he reached out for it mentally, wanting it to embrace him like it had embraced Itachi. _I need you, Itachi..._ He was trying to reach out to a brother that was not there—a brother that had left him and broke his heart. _Please, just... Not dead..._ He needed to be alone; he needed to die. _Itachi..._ He was angry.

"Why won't one of you do something?" it was their lack of involvement that was now making Naruto wonder just whether they were friend or foe. "There is nothing that any of us can do for him," Tatsuya said softly as she continued to stare at her friend with no emotion in her red and black eyes. "But he's not breathing! He's going to die!"

_How could you do this to me...?_ Now an anger that he had not known since the day Itachi had been taking him back was taking control of him. He was furious that Itachi had died—furious that the man had been stupid enough to die. _I could have been there! I could have helped you! ...But you took me away from you... You ripped my heart apart..._ It hurt so bad; so much worse than anything else that he had ever felt in his life and he could swear that he was crying. _I love you dammit... And you threw me away acting like it didn't mean a thing... Then you die! How could you do this to me?_ He was sorrowful.

"If he cannot bring himself out of it then he will die," she spoke the words as if Sasuke's life meant absolutely nothing to her and it caused Naruto to glare at her. "How the hell can you say that? He trusts you! He trusts you and you're just going to let him die! What kind of person are you?" Tatsuya only blinked, still not bothering to look at Naruto. "I am smart enough to know that I cannot help a person that does not want to be helped."

_You said you loved me... Was it just words to you? Did you ever care about me, Itachi?_ His anger was dissolving quickly as something else grabbed him. _I know... I know that I love you...so much..._ Something that he could not explain. _You have left me again... You've left me even after you told me that we might see each other again..._ That nothingness that had been so close before seemed to be further away now, but he didn't know why. _I am...so stupid... I ran—ran to go back to you...because I can't go on without you..._ He still wanted to die so horribly. _...How could you do this to me...?_ Yet he was alive.

"It shouldn't matter! If you care about him at all then you should—" Naruto didn't get to finish his sentence as Sasuke jolted up out of his arms suddenly, gasping for a moment. "Sasuke! Are you okay?" he moved to his friend's side, placing a hand on the elder's back gently and in that same moment Sasuke began crying the tears that he had thought he had already shed. "S-Sasuke... What's wrong?"

And, though he really knew he shouldn't have, Sasuke couldn't help but lean against the boy that was acting so caring while he cried his eyes out. "...He's...He's gone, Naruto..." the blonde wasn't quite comprehending exactly why Sasuke was so sad about it, because he figured that Sasuke would, of course, be ecstatic to learn that his brother was finally dead, even if he hadn't gotten to kill him himself. "Aren't you happy about that...? I mean, you've wanted to kill him for years because of what he did, so why are you crying?"

Even in his current state, Sasuke found that Naruto was completely stupid if he couldn't understand. "He's in love with him, Kitsune-chan; they were lovers for a long time," Rikako whispered into Naruto's ear after kneeling next to him. The news sent an shock to the blonde's core and he shut his eyes, attempting to keep the tears from coming to his eyes. "I-I'm sorry about your brother, Sasuke..."

It was a few moments after Naruto spoke that he got up and left the house, finding that he could no longer bear to be around Sasuke at the current moment. The raven-haired teen didn't even bother with his friend as he watched the other male leave, and once Naruto was gone he finally began to wipe the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand, only being able to dry his eyes for moments at a time.

"You could have just let go, you know," Sasuke didn't turn around to face the girl who had spoken to him. "Don't start, Tatsuya," he replied quietly but Tatsuya didn't heed his words. "Why do you hold on to him? He dumped you here; he told you to live your life. He is no longer a part of your life, Sasuke." The onyx-eyed teen clenched his hand for a moment on the floor next to his body. "He will always be a part of my life. _Always_..."

"You have put yourself through too much for Itachi-sama."

"Don't you dare say that!" he snapped before turning around, glaring at her, his Sharingan activated, but she didn't flinch away, just simply continued to sit there on the floor staring into his angry eyes. "Don't you ever dare think that I have put myself through too much for him, because I haven't! I haven't done near enough for him! ...But what the hell does he do to me?" Sasuke stopped, biting his lip after a second to calm himself. "He leaves me...again..." more tears began building up in his eyes as the crimson faded back to onyx.

"I...I can't continue to do this... He can't leave me anymore...but this time...this time it was just too much..." All three girls stared at their friend as he cried over his brother but not one of them could feel anything towards him; not one of them could relate to him or tell him that it was going to be okay. "Tatsuya... I want to die. If my brother is dead...then I want to be as well," the words did not surprise the dark-haired girl.

"You could have died, Sasuke; you could have left everything here, but you did not. Why?" he looked down at the floor, so lost now without the man he loved in the world. "I don't know... I was so close...but then..." he couldn't finish speaking. "Then it is not your time to die," Sasuke closed his eyes, wishing everything away—wishing so hard that his brother could be with him, but he knew it was to no avail. "But I want to die so badly." Tatsuya did not speak a reply as she just watched Sasuke realize how empty his world was now.

"...I need him so badly, Tatsuya. It's not fair that I can't have him..." and indeed she found that it was completely unfair. She hated seeing Sasuke so broken and she wished that she could give the teen what he wanted, but she could not. Itachi had forbade it and she always followed his orders without question.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"_You can't do this to him," her words were spoken strongly as she stood across from the chair that Itachi sat in. He regarded her thoughtfully for a few moments. She was the only one of the three that ever stood up to him; the only one that ever attempted to change his mind about anything, and he found that he quite admired that about her._

"_I do not have a choice," she didn't like his answer but didn't let it show, something that she was amazingly talented at doing. "You always have a choice, Itachi-sama." His crimson eyes closed when he heard his name leave her lips, it was the only thing that he disliked about her—that she was so adamant about referring to him with that title, just like the other two were as well._

"_You do not understand, Tatsuya. This is for the best," he spoke the words even though he knew that he didn't want it be so. "You don't want him to go, I know that much without having to read your mind."_

"_That may be, but it doesn't change anything." Tatsuya stared at Itachi for minutes, her red and black eyes just looking into his. "Why are you willing to do this to yourself?" for a few moments Itachi didn't answer, he only placed his elbow on the armrest as he crossed his legs. "Because I know...what needs to be done in order for my brother to be happy."_

_She was utterly confused. "He is happy now, Itachi-sama. He has always been happy with you; he loves you. Have your feelings for him changed? Is that why you are doing this—taking him away?" for the first time since they had met Itachi gave her a look like she was completely stupid._

"_My feelings for Sasuke will never change; I will always love him with my entire being, but..." he trailed off and looked away from her while his mind began to wander. "But what, Itachi-sama?" it seemed like this was important to him and thus it was important to her._

"_But his feelings for me will change and one day he will again hate me for what I did."_

"_There is no way on this earth that he can hate you. I've gone through his mind countless times. You are all he thinks about—you are all he needs in his life. You are just going to send him away because you believe that his feelings will change?" Itachi was silent for a moment. "No."_

"_Then why? Why will you not explain to me about this mission that you have given the three of us? Do you not trust me?"_

"_I will not explain because once your mission begins Aiko will give you all the information," his explanation was short and simple, but it also avoided answering her first question, which she noticed immediately. "Why are you sending him away?"_

_Itachi smiled softly, although Tatsuya could barely see it. "I'm sending him away so that he may find his happiness once again." The dark-haired girl shook her head. "And what of your feelings—your happiness? What if he finds himself lost without you; what if you end up being completely wrong about all of this?" Itachi looked back at her and stared for a moment before he motioned for her to come a bit closer, which she did without hesitation._

"_My feelings; my happiness, they do not matter. Sasuke is what matters. He will find himself lost without me at first, which is why I know he will try to run away to find me, but you all will get to him before he gets anywhere near the hideout," he paused for a moment as he thought. "And you should know by now, Tatsuya, that I am never wrong." She absolutely hated how sure of himself he sounded, but she could not argue with him because she had truly never known him to be wrong. So after a few moments she only nodded._

"_When are we leaving to begin our mission?" it was a slight subject change, but she knew they both needed it. "You have another week," was the only answer he gave her. "And what of you and Sasuke? When are you taking him back to the village?" he stared at her emotionlessly, just as she was staring at him._

"_A few weeks."_

"_We will not be able to say good-bye then, will we?" Itachi smiled softly again and this time she could see it better._

"_You will be able to tell him that you'll see him soon," she nodded and knew that she was dismissed so she turned and began to walk away from the man that sat in his chair, yet before she reached the door she stopped and just stared at it as she found that she needed to try and say something to keep this from happening. "You know, Itachi-sama..." she trailed off for a moment, "you're going to break his heart."_

"_I know."_

**XxXxXxXxX**

Red and black eyes opened to stare at the ceiling in Naruto's living room where she, Aiko and Rikako were sleeping. Briefly she wondered why she had woken when it was still dark out, but then slowly her dream began coming back to her and it only made her remember everything else that had happened. And as she remembered she began to wonder if Sasuke had tried to commit suicide, hoping that he hadn't, because she knew that if he did and succeeded then she would have such a hard time explaining it.

Tatsuya continued to stare at the ceiling for many minutes, deep in thought, when a sudden noise caught her attention and made her eyes shift over to the front door. She began wondering if it was Naruto finally coming home, seeing as the blonde boy hadn't returned before any of them had gone to sleep. After a few moments, her curiosity got the better of her and she got up off the floor, stepping over her comrades as she made her way over to the door, opening it to find Uzumaki Naruto sitting on the front porch.

"Why are you out here?" she questioned him quietly once she stepped out onto the porch and shut the door silently. Naruto quickly turned around to see who was behind him and when he saw that it was only Tatsuya he sighed and turned back around, disappointment clear in his body language. "If you were hoping I was Sasuke then I must be disappointing you greatly, but I will tell you now that he is not going to be coming out to comfort you any time soon." Naruto could only nod as he already knew that well enough. "I just...needed to think..." he finally spoke, answering her question.

"What about?" she knew she could have easily found out without having to ask, but she had learned over time that it was better to try and find out information by asking questions first. "...Sasuke..." It didn't come as much of a surprise to her as she moved from her spot in front of the closed door, sitting down on Naruto's right. "He hurt you," she commented.

"...How could he lie to me like that...?" Naruto whispered the question to himself before he glanced over at Tatsuya, wondering if she could somehow give him the answers that he needed. "He believes that you don't understand him—that you don't understand how it feels to lose someone that you love so deeply," hearing the words made Naruto look down at the ground again. "...How could he think that I don't understand...?" he shook his head, closing his eyes for just a moment before looking over at Tatsuya again, apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Tatsuya... I know you don't really understand...but Sasuke and I..." Naruto trailed off, unable to finish his sentence as he brought his fingers up to his lips. "I know much more than you think, Uzumaki Naruto," she told him quietly as she stared up at the glowing moon above them. "Sasuke does not remember that the two of you were once lovers and it hurts you because he believes that you do not understand how it feels for him to lose his brother: the person that he loves so greatly. Yet, you understand more than he does because you've been living with such a pain for so much longer than he." Naruto stared at her, simply amazed by what she knew.

"...How...in the world do you know that...?" she didn't bother looking at him while he continued to stare at her in complete amazement. "Mind reading does have its advantages..." she told him quietly as his eyes widened. "M-mind reading... You mean...you can...read my thoughts...?" Tatsuya nodded slowly. "Not just thoughts...anything that is in your mind can be seen by myself if I so choose to use my power." The blonde swallowed the lump in his throat, suddenly feeling very vulnerable around the girl.

"It just so happens...that your face is easy to read and deep down... Sasuke does remember. That is the only reason I know what I know," blue eyes were shining through the darkness around them as Naruto bit his lip, feeling a little better as he knew that the elder hadn't gone reading his mind. "H-he...remembers...?" she only nodded once again. "Then why...why does he keep denying that he and I were ever together...?" For the first time since she sat next to him, Tatsuya looked over at Naruto, her usual serious look still plastered on her face.

"Because he only remembers deep inside of himself. Only when he dreams is when he truly remembers, any other time his heart belongs to his brother and his brother alone. That is why Itachi-sama sent us..."

"Wh-what?" he sounded shocked and yet confused at the same time. "Itachi-sama knew that you are the one that Sasuke is truly meant to be with, or at least that is what he believed...and not even I could make him think differently..." for a moment Naruto said nothing as he sat completely still, but then slowly his eyes turned back to the ground. "But he doesn't remember..."

"And that is why we are here: to figure out why he cannot remember," this was the first time that he had hope since the changes he had begun seeing in Sasuke. He had hope for the first time in years that the elder male would finally act normal again one day.

Minutes of silence passed with minutes of Naruto thinking before he finally turned his gaze on Tatsuya once again, just as she shifted the tiniest bit. And for the first time his eyes caught sight of her head band that was strapped around her upper left arm. "...Y-you're from...Otogakure..." When Tatsuya heard his slow statement she turned her head and looked down at her headband. "Yes, I am," she confirmed, not missing the concerned look that passed over Naruto's face.

"...Are you...are you going to hurt Sasuke...?" they both looked up at each other at the exact same time and the moment the blue eyes met the red and black ones Naruto just had to wonder if she was reading his mind. "For nearly a year I have been working for Itachi-sama; I would never hurt Sasuke even if I had to," she reassured him after a moment before standing up and turning around to go back inside.

"But if you are so worried about my being from Oto, then just think about it this way... The only reason I can read minds is because of the experimentation Orochimaru-sama put me through. The moment I knew he was dead I left," and with those final words the dark-haired girl opened up the front door and walked back into the house, leaving Naruto alone once again to think about the raven-haired teenager that had made him feel so horrible.

**TBC...**

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A/N: Here is the edited chapter five. I hope that you enjoyed it and that you perhaps review. Thank you.

SandXDemonX13

TTYFTDS


	6. Chapter 6

Rating: T

Pairings: Ita/Sasu, one-sided Sasu/Naru and mentions of a former Sasu/Naru relationship.

Warnings: Implied incest, mentions of past shonen-ai and a bit of language I believe, so don't like then don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own Tatsuya, Hayashi Aiko and Asukai Rikako.

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**The Aftermath**

**Chapter six**

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Suicide, in Sasuke's opinion, seemed to be an even more wonderful idea as the minutes ticked by him as he lay awake in the guest bed with the window open, feeling the light breeze from outside. As the minutes continued to stretch the wonderful idea began to turn into a even more lovable option as he overheard the conversation being held on the porch down below the guest room. "I know much more than you think, Uzumaki Naruto," it was the first thing that he really heard as his attention focused a little late, but he knew immediately that Tatsuya was speaking to Naruto.

"Sasuke does not remember that the two of you were once lovers and it hurts you because he believes that you do not understand how it feels for him to lose his brother: the person that he loves so greatly. Yet, you understand more than he does because you've been living with such a pain for so much longer than he." Those were words that he had never wanted to hear, ever in his life.

"...How...in the world do you know that?" it was the exact same thing that Sasuke wanted answered as well. "Mind reading does have its advantages..." his heart stopped in his chest for several moments after hearing his friend's words. He couldn't believe that she had done it and he hadn't even known.

"M-mind reading... You mean...you can...read my thoughts...?"

"Not just thoughts...anything that is in your mind can be seen by myself if I so choose to use my power..." Silence followed her words, stretching for moments. "It just so happens...that your face is easy to read and deep down... Sasuke does remember. That is the only reason I know what I know." Sasuke could tell instantly that Tatsuya was lying. "H-he...remembers...?" his onyx eyes bore into the ceiling above him as he shook his head slowly, somehow trying to get it across to the blonde that he didn't. "Then why...why does he keep denying that he and I were ever together...?"

"Because he only remembers deep inside of himself. Only when he dreams is when he truly remembers, any other time his heart belongs to his brother and his brother alone. That is why Itachi-sama sent us..." _No... Naruto and I...we were never lovers..._

"Wh-what?" his hearing began to fade in and out as his heart rate suddenly quickened. He couldn't bring himself to believe any of what Tatsuya was saying, though he had absolutely no reason to doubt the girl. "Itachi-sama knew that you are the one that Sasuke is meant to be with, or at least that is what he believed...and not even I could make him think differently..." he struggled to hear the entire sentence, but once he heard it all his vision blacked out as he fell unconscious.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"_Sasuke... Sasuke! Why are you acting like this?"_ Another damn dream, or memory...or well, whatever they happened to be. _"Acting like what, Naruto?"_ The picture surrounded him quickly, but he didn't dare look up because he simply didn't care. _"You've been...so... Sasuke, your mood has been all over the place lately. What is wrong? You won't talk to me about anything anymore..."_ He could tell without even having to see that the dream-Naruto was either crying or near it.

"_...Naruto, I don't know what you're talking about. Really, I've never felt better. Maybe you're just imagining things."_ He could hear the sound of angry steps being taken across a hardwood floor, and for a moment it made him want to look up, but he thankfully resisted the urge. _"Sasuke,_" his name was growled from the younger. _"Don't you dare tell me that I'm imagining this! Ever since you got that...that curse mark...you've been...different..."_ He could hear that it hurt Naruto to even talk about it.

"_Hey now... Come here. No, Naruto,"_ again the urge to look was biting at him, but he didn't look up to see what was going on as he knew it was all just a lie. _"Listen to me,"_ dream-Sasuke's words were whispered now and the real Sasuke could only guess that dream-him and dream-Naruto were closer to each other than before. _"I promised you, Naruto, remember? I promised that once I kill my brother I'll be all yours; just yours alone. So don't worry about me so much, all right?"_ He was not able to hear Naruto's answer as his heart jolted in his chest. He could remember that Naruto had told him that he had said that...but he hadn't been able to remember it—he still couldn't.

"_...Sasuke..."_ This time his heart leapt from the voice that he suddenly heard and he looked up, not seeing the images of himself or Naruto anywhere. He could only see Itachi in the blackness that enveloped him. _"Sasuke... I wish there were an easier way to do this..."_ Confusion welled up inside of him as he attempted to walk a little closer to the screen that didn't exist, but got nowhere. _"If you're seeing this...then I can only guess that you're back in Konohagakure, but seeing as I have no idea when this will be triggered... You could end up seeing this tomorrow, which would be horrible for me."_ Sasuke smiled lightly, his confusion fading for a moment as he found himself entranced by his brother's voice.

"_Now, Sasuke... I'm sorry. You know, I really wish this weren't so hard to do... I love you, Sasuke..."_ He could still smile after hearing those words, even after feeling so betrayed by the man. _"Today is two and a half weeks before I am taking you back to Konoha, and as I know, since it is you, you will most likely want an explanation of why I am taking you back home."_ Sasuke could only nod as he felt a need to reach out and touch the man around him, though he knew it was impossible.

"_This that you are seeing I've implanted into your memory banks so that one night you will dream it, hopefully once you are gone from here, as I've said. But I'm doing this, Sasuke, to give you my reason."_ Itachi looked away off to the side and smiled softly, making Sasuke's heart ache when he saw it.

"_You look so peaceful sleeping, you know... I just hate that I have to take you back home, but you don't love me, Sasuke. You never have and you never will."_ His confusion was back stronger than before as he shook his head, trying to find his voice so that he could yell at his brother—tell him that it wasn't true. But he couldn't speak as he watched Itachi's jaw clench before he went on, _"I lived awhile in contentment, believing that you loved me just as I love you, but I can no longer do so, Sasuke. I understand that you may want to yell and protest what I am saying, but you must understand that I know that it is the truth. I know it is because your feelings have been manipulated, little brother..."_ His eyes bore into Itachi's image in both shock and utter pain. He couldn't believe that the man was saying this...or had said it and he was now hearing it, now that he could never voice a reply to the elder.

"_Yes, your feelings were manipulated and your memories tampered with. By Orochimaru, of course. Why he chose me to place your feelings upon is because love will make you want to kill me and exact your revenge even more over time. And although you killed him your curse mark didn't leave you, though I had suspected that it wouldn't have left in the first place, but that is what happens to be blocking all of your memories and feelings for Naruto."_ A growl nearly tore from Sasuke's throat when he heard the words. He had heard it enough as it was. He didn't want to hear that he had feelings for Naruto from Itachi when he knew that he didn't.

"_And yes, deny it though you want to, Naruto is the one that you loved before me and he is the one you will love long after. He is why I am taking you back... I am hoping, along with Tatsuya, Aiko and Rikako's help that your lost memories will be returned and your feelings will once again be real."_ He could only stare at Itachi in amazement as the man looked back at him, so calm that it made him angry.

"_You will forget about me over time, Sasuke, and you will come to hate me even more for reasons that you don't know. Although by then I think I'll be long dead, but...who's to know? But I... I have a request, Sasuke..."_ He could tell that Itachi was beginning to fight his own emotions just as it was obvious that this little message was coming to a close.

"_Even when you forget me... Deep down, down in the deepest and darkest part of your soul... Please, never forget that I love you, Sasuke, so incredibly much that I have thrown away my only chance at happiness to give you yours back."_ Itachi stopped speaking and shook his head slightly before looking away once again, to where, Sasuke could only assume, he had been sleeping when Itachi had done all this. _"Good-bye, Sasuke... My love."_

The moment after Itachi's final words were spoken everything went black around him as he hit the ground on his knees, wishing that the message would play itself over again so that he could see his brother and hear his voice for just a little while longer. "Itachi... I'm...so sorry..." it was the only thing that he could even begin to say.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"...What do you _want_?" Aiko asked, feeling very agitated as Naruto continued to lean over her shoulder and attempt to read everything that she was writing. "You're not writing anything," Naruto observed as the redhead's pen kept moving over the paper, but no words were visible. "Yes, I am. Now leave me alone," she was quickly losing her patience with the boy, just like she did with Rikako on occasion, as he began playing with the blue tips of her hair absently while he just continued to watch her write nonexistent words. "...There's nothing there..." he whispered, quite curious about just why she was claiming to write when she obviously wasn't.

"You just need—"

"Kitsune-chan!" Naruto moved away from Aiko the moment he heard the nickname that Rikako had given him. The blonde girl walked up to him, smiling before she grabbed his hand and yanked him away, apologizing quietly to Aiko as she did. "You shouldn't bother Aiko when she's writing...which is like all the time... So you just shouldn't bother Aiko," Rikako warned quietly, making Naruto feel confused as he heard again the the redhead was actually writing. "But she's not writing anything!" he exclaimed loudly, thinking that it might get it across. Rikako was just silent as Tatsuya looked up at them, curious about the shout, as they walked by her while she sat on the couch reading. The blonde smiled at her comrade before dragging Naruto even farther away.

"You don't understand, Kitsune-chan. It's chakra infused ink that she keeps invisible so that no one can ever read what she writes," the blue-eyed girl told him as if she were explaining something to a small child. Naruto nodded slowly even though he didn't quite understand. "Tatsuya!" both blondes turned to look at the hallway as Sasuke stormed his way out of it, dead intent on speaking to Tatsuya. "Ooh, Tatsu-chan did something baaad!" Rikako said quietly with a small smile on her face.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Tatsuya didn't seem all that concerned as she just continued to read, almost completely ignoring Sasuke. "We need to talk. _Now._" the dark-haired teenager didn't bother arguing, as she knew it'd really just be a waste of her time, so she closed the book she had been read and stood up, walking toward Sasuke after a second, who turned around and marched himself right back into the hallway. Tatsuya followed her friend quite calmly, stopping a few feet away from him at the end of the hall. "I heard you and Naruto talking last night," Sasuke began quickly in a hushed whisper.

The elder's red eyes bore into Sasuke's onyx impassively as she stayed quiet, finding nothing that needed confirming. "He and I were never lovers; _never_, you hear me?" She stood there for a few moments more in silence, wondering if Sasuke would calm himself, but he didn't. "Yes, the two of you were, Sasuke," she told him easily and it wounded him. He didn't want to keep hearing it. "Normally you wouldn't bring something like this up. Something happened to bring this about then, yes?" her question was quiet and asked in the most questioning and concerned manner that was possible for her. "No, nothing happened." He denied his dreaming about Itachi, wanting it to be something that only he knew.

Tatsuya stared at him, as silent as usual, and after a few moments Sasuke began to get curious about her silence. Yet then just a second later he realized why she was being so quiet and he glared at her. "_Get out of my head,_" he whispered harshly while hoping that she would just leave him alone, even though he had been the one that had called upon her to talk. "That must have been nice for you—to see Itachi-sama last night," Tatsuya commented quietly after breaking contact with Sasuke's mind.

"It's...It's not true... What he said, it's not. Naruto and I... We just...we weren't," it was all he could manage to get out as his brain began to stop working properly. "Sasuke, your brother has not lied to you about yours and Naruto's past. I've checked; there is something that is blocking a significant amount of your memories, and not just blocking some but it has completely rewritten others. Itachi-sama did not lie to you. You and Naruto were once lovers and Orochimaru-sama did tamper with your memories," she told him, her voice as emotionless as always.

"But...I love him," he sounded so completely broken that it almost hurt Tatsuya. "He told me that I don't... But...he's wrong, Tatsuya... There's no way that I can't not love him..." the dark-haired girl took a deep breath, exhaling a moment later. "I tried to tell him that," she whispered to him quietly, "I did, Sasuke, before we left I tried to reason with him; I tried to talk some sense into him. Yet he seemed so sure that this was the right thing to do. He would not listen to reason because he only wanted you to be happy."

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut tightly, wishing that everything would just go away; he wished that everyone would just go. He wanted to be with his brother. More than anything at the moment, he really wanted to hit the man for thinking that he didn't truly love him. "...That..._bastard_... How could he...?" Tatsuya could see that she was no longer needed, or wanted, and so she turned and walked back down the hallway, leaving Sasuke alone.

Many moments after the red-eyed girl had left he leaned against the wall before sliding down it, not feeling the pain that he inflicted upon himself as his naked back scraped against the wall. He could only feel the pain that his dead brother was causing him. "...How could you...?" it was the only thing that he could ask the man that wasn't there with him as he brought his knees up, hugging them and resting his head on his kneecaps.

"I do love you..." they were the only other words that he could say before Rikako bounced down the hallway, not really looking at him. "Tatsu-chan says that we need to go see Hokage-sama!" she said the words in a singsong-like voice before she quickly went back from where she came, quite unable to look at Sasuke on the floor, sitting among the broken pieces of his heart.

**TBC...**

* * *

A/N: Here is the edited chapter six. I hope that you enjoyed it and that you will perhaps review. Thank you.

SandXDemonX13

TTYFTDS


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